


Merry 'Effin Christmas

by ScaredOfHam



Series: Persona 5 Christmas One-Shots [1]
Category: Persona 5, Persona Series
Genre: Akira being a little shit, Christmas, Christmas Fluff, Christmas Party, Christmas Presents, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Futaba decides to decorate the tree with ornaments based on everyone, Haru x Makoto is kind of going on too in this first chapter, Humor probably isn't funny though, M/M, Makoto deserves a break poor girl, Morgana is forced to wear his Christmas snowman outift, Mutual Pining, Persona 5 Christmas Crossover, Phantom Thief Fluff, Pining, This is an attempt to put a P4 team bonding moment in Persona 5 let's hope it works, Ugly Christmas Sweater Party, Ugly Holiday Sweaters
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-16
Updated: 2017-12-16
Packaged: 2019-02-13 23:24:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,355
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12994791
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ScaredOfHam/pseuds/ScaredOfHam
Summary: The Phantom Thieves throw an ugly Christmas sweater party. If only Ryuji didn't look so adorable in his...





	Merry 'Effin Christmas

**Author's Note:**

> Just a warning, Futaba and Akira have a very "we are basically brother and sister relationship" in this, but I mean no offense to Futaba x Akira shippers because I can honestly see their relationship going either way so please don't hurt me. ^^;

Sojiro had heard that cat growl before, sure, but he'd never thought Morgana was capable of such furious  _snarling._

Akira, of course, just calmly continued to make coffee. 

"Hey, kid? You sure that cat's enjoying wearing... whatever that is?"

The ravenette briefly glanced up from his work and said in a deadpan monotone, "He's a f'uffy snowman." 

"Mmm-hmm." He awkwardly patted the top of Morgana's head; the cat's unnaturally blue eyes were begging him for help. "Don't you think you should at least loosen up the neck part?"

"Mona's fiiiiiiine." Futaba objected. 

Sojiro chuckled. "Poor little guy."

"Sojirooo... We're going to take it off after everyone gets here." Futaba insisted, swishing aside a lock of orange hair. 

"Yeah. Suuuuure you are." He slowly shook his head. "I can see I never should have agreed to a Christmas party at Leblanc-"

"But we finally get to have Akira stay for Christmas! You know how he spent last Christmas-" Futaba's lower lip trembled. 

"It's alright." Akira said hastily. "It all worked out fine."

"Speaking of that-" Sojiro obviously needed a subject change; he definitely hadn't expected his joke to lead to  _this-_ , "You would think the incredible former Phantom Thieves would choose a much more stylish party theme than ugly damn sweaters."

"Ugly!" Futaba protested, stretching out her sweater so Sojiro could clearly see it for the eightieth time since she'd found it online. "You can't look me in the eyes and tell me  _this_ is  _ugly!"_

It was a fuzzy green one, with a lovely way-past-fat Santa using a burning Christmas tree to shoot down reindeer-alien looking things with lasers. 

 Sojiro just smiled. And immediately left. A moment later Makoto came in, nervously smiling. "Hello, everyone!" 

"Everyone? You're early! We haven't even finished preparing everything yet!"

"Yes, I can see you're helping a lot, Futaba," She teased, pointing at the ancient green gameboy in her hands; the other girl simply raised a middle finger in response. Makoto barely noticed this, however, as she had just now observed the pitiful state of Morgana and rushed over to the poor thing. "Oh, Mona! Are you alright?"

"Do I  _look_ alright?!?"

"Ignore him, Makoto. Stop complaining, Morgana."

The cat hissed at Akira, who simply continued making the coffee without another word. Makoto sighed, moving a hand to her hair, which was still cold from being outside, and turned back to Futaba. "And I'm only five minutes early, anyway! You surely can't be too far behind, right? Are the presents even all here yet?" Her stress level was rising with each word; she  _knew_ she should have worked harder to convince Akira  _she_ should have a stronger role in organizing this...!

"Of course!" Futaba grinned, seemingly unaware of Makoto's inner struggle as she hopped up and rushed over to the tree. "Look at how great we decorated this! Isn't it awesome?!?"

Makoto followed with a stressed smile. "It's certainly... original." The tree was the traditional green and the lights met standard expectations, but every single normal ornament was red, black, or both.

"Mm-hmmm! And everyone got an ornament we thought would suit them!" Futaba plucked one of a video game character off a lower branch, giggling, "This one's mine!"

"Which one is mine...?"

Futaba pointed; Makoto's expression fell at the leather-clad bald man on a motorcycle hanging near the top. "Wha... Wh-Where did you even find that?!?"

Futaba smirked. "Not telling!" With her chest puffed out in some perverse pride, she whirled around to Akira. "And you lost the bet! I _told_ you she'd wear a Granny sweater!"

"What-" Makoto gasped, glancing down at her top. "This is nothing of the sort!" It was black, with Christmas lights and generic ornamanets curled around the sides. And of course, all down the middle were little red pom-poms like fucking  _buttons. So_ Makoto, in Futaba's humble opinion. 

Akira sighed when he glanced at the brunette's apparel, mumbling, "I'll pay you later, Futaba."

"Th-This isn't-" Makoto looked into those demonic eyes of Futaba's and huffed, knowing there was no point in arguing her case. "A-Anyway, let's change the subject. What's... Morgana's ornamanet?"

Immediately upon her words, the cat attempted to move, which unfortunately just wasn't possible in his current cloth prison. "I DID NOT AGREE TO THAT! QUEEN! DON'T LISTEN TO THEM-"

Futaba snickered as she showed Makoto a shrunken picture of Ann from one of her photoshoots. Before she could react, in walked Ann herself, Haru a step behind. 

"Hey, guys!" Ann greeted them warmly. 

Morgana immediately hissed, "Putitaway, PUTITAWAY-!"

 "Hey, Ann!" Futaba waved, ornament still in-hand.

"Huh? What's-?" She closed the distance between them, saw it, and laughed. "Is- Hey, you didn't choose this for _my_ ornament, did you? Don't tell me you think I'm _that_ egotistical-" 

"Wh- You told  _her_ you guys were doing this and not me?" Makoto interjected. Futaba ignored her, swiping a glittery heart off of the tree. While Ann cooed over it, Makoto cried, " _And_ you actually picked something cute for her?!?"

"Oh, that doesn't matter, Mako-chan! You look much cuter than any ornament!" Haru said with a sweet smile. 

 Makoto's expression softened. "Aww, thank you. You look lovely as well."

 And she did. Her sweater was absolutely adorable, a soft cream background with a huge Christmas tree, except instead of ornamanets, beautiful flowers of all types were blooming on every branch. 

"And you look l-lovely as well, Lady Ann!"

The blonde smiled as she glanced towards the cat. "Thanks, Mona!" Hers was white with a somehow-chic reindeer on it- no details, just a filled-in brown outline with glitter mixed all in the reindeer, too- and three tiny, real bells were around its neck, but they didn't make any noise whenever Ann moved; clearly her new focus on modeling had made her even more graceful than she'd always been. "I got a special deal on it, a company I model for made this in a new line- oh, but more importantly, don't worry, Ryuji and Yusuke should be here any second."

"I hope so." The cat whimpered. 

Akira sighed. "So whiny."

"Let's see  _you_ do it, then-!"

"Anyway!" Futaba interrupted to show Haru her ornament, an adorable teacup with flowers blooming inside. Akira's, of course, was a Joker playing card- "Creative, I know," Futaba introduced it as.

They all jumped when a gust of cold air came in- Ryuji followed a moment later, laughing his ass off. 

"Oh, why's  _this_ idiot laughing...?" Morgana grumbled. 

Ryuji ignored him, frantically gesturing for Yusuke to enter Leblanc. "C-C'mon, man, you gotta show 'em your stuff!"

"I do not understand what is so funny." Yusuke shook his head as he walked in- and Futaba began to laugh so hard it sounded more like she was choking. 

His sweater was a royal blue, with a simple red and green ornament to either side and, in elaborate kanji, the word, "Balls." Yusuke sighed. "What is so funny? They  _are_ balls, are they not?"

Ryuji and Futaba were both about to pass out. No one noticed that Akira had, for the first time, took his attention completely away from the coffee he was making, nor the soft smile tugging at his features from how adorable Ryuji looked while he laughed. 

 "Aaaaand this is the group of people that pretty much saved the world." Ann announced with a slow clap.

"Can we take that damn picture so I can take this off already?" Morgana hissed. 

"I think Akira's busy right now, man."

"Ryuji is the only person that understands me." Akira finally spoke, glancing towards the other boy in a way that was, well, much less embarrassing than how he had been a few moments ago. "That sweater is everything." 

Ryuji's face lit up like a kid's on Christmas morning. "Thanks!" It was a flamboyantly bright yellow- the brightest thing in the entire café,  actually- with a skull donning a Santa hat, complete with snowflakes falling in the background. 

God... Akira's heart hurt. Since he'd came back, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't manage to get enough time with Ryuji, hadn't even got to have a _single_ moment alone with the blond he'd been pining for since the day they'd parted ways. Texting, calling, even video chatting-  none of it was enough. All Akira really wanted for Christmas was to spend every remaining moment of his life by his best friend's side; was that _really_ too much to ask?

Akira lost himself in watching Ryuji. Unbeknownst to them, Ann stared, smirking, then Morgana hissed, "Come ON, the coffee can wait! It'll only take ten seconds!"

"I think we should go ahead and do it, if that's okay." Haru agreed quietly, not liking to see the cat upset. 

 "If that's what Haru wants..." Akira caved teasingly, moving to step away- "Hooo boy, here it comes!" Futaba chirped- and everyone gasped as they finally saw what their former leader was wearing. 

 It was black, and that was... the only part of it that met their expectations of Akira Kurusu. Sure, people said "ugly Christmas sweaters" all the time, but most of them were actually pretty cute. This one was... traumatizing.

 It was clearly supposed to be a cat, but  _oh_ it was horribly drawn- Ryuji gained much more confidence in his artistic abilities after seeing it, though then again this might actually be more terrifying than his attempt at the Phantom Thief logo- if someone sent him a calling card with this he'd turn himself in just to have police protection. The gray blob/cat was sitting on some mistletoe, which was the only thing that  _wasn't_ an eyesore. All over the sweater were these bigass, sparkly white pom-poms,  scattered around without a hint of a pattern. The ?cat? was wearing a Santa hat, and surely, there would be a pom-pom at the tip; but no, a deformed white blob was there instead, though there  _was_ a pom-pom on the cat's ear for no fucking reason. A real red ribbon was on its chest with real bells in the knot, and surely all of this crap on the sweater would be enough, but again,  _no,_ whatever monster that had created it had decided to put red bows all over the damn thing as well, and yet again, there was no pattern. Makoto fought a desperate need to somehow organize it upon seeing it; Yusuke was considering giving up art as surely there was no such thing as beauty in this world after all.

"Do you guys like it?" Akira asked cheerfully.

"Please tell me this is a tactless attempt for a joke." Yusuke replied bluntly. 

"It's not." Futaba assured. 

Everyone was silent- then Ryuji bravely declared, "I like it! It's got personality, just like you do!" 

Ryuji wasn't lying, either; Akira looked  _so fucking cute._ It was honestly unfair; he knew he would never get to be anything more than Akira's friend, and yet he had still felt nothing but hollowness the entire time Akira was gone. It was 'effin stupid, but frankly, he couldn't help but adore Akira; he probably wouldn't stop feeling this way for the other male until he fucking died.

Akira, completely unaware of this, was smiling so hard it  _must_ have hurt the holly jolly hell out of his face. "See? Ryuji  _is_ the only one that gets me!"

Futaba rolled her eyes at her(not officially but one day she'd convince Sojiro to adopt him no matter what his parents said, dammit!) brother's pathetic attempts at flirting; to her surprise, Ann noticed and  _winked_ at her. Morgana yowled, "Shut up about the damn sweater and save me!"

"Alright." Akira sighed, then sarcastically ordered, "Okay team, get into formation!"

Futaba sat in the floor with a miserable Morgana in her lap, everyone else huddling around her. Akira positioned his phone in front of them, adjusting his phone until everyone fitted perfectly (much to Morgana's disdain), then set it to take a photo in ten seconds, quickly sidling into the view (beside Ryuji, "coincedentally.")

For a few moments, there was silence as they waited; then Morgana vowed softly, "If anyone blinks I swear on my life I will end you."

_Click!_

Futaba scooped up the phone, grinning. "Victory! Perfect photo accomplished!"

"Now let's all get one for our own phones, too!"

"Oh! Great idea, Ryuji!" Yusuke agreed, oblivious to Ryuji's reasoning behind the request. 

"Hell no!" Morgana snarled. "Akira can send you guys it later! NOW GET ME THE HELL OUT OF THIS DAMN THING!"

Haru immediately commenced Operation Free Morgana while Akira went back to finish his coffee mission; Futaba entertained herself by showing Ryuji his ornament  (a bowl of ramen) and Yusuke-...

Yusuke frowned. "Is this... a bald man wearing a fursuit?" He said each word slowly, tentatively, as if in fear that speaking them aloud would make all of their sins more tangible. 

"Mm-hmmm!  A  _fox_ fursuit, Inari~!" Futaba sang.

Yusuke tilted his head in confusion; Ryuji explained, "She's harrassin' you."

"Ohhh." Yusuke's brow creased in concern. "But... where on earth does one even  _find_ such a thing?"

"That's what I'd like to know, too." Ann piped up.

"Nope! Not telling! A magician never reveals her secrets~!"

"Why did everyone other than Makoto and I get... cute ornaments?" Yusuke's tone was heart-breakingly disappointed. 

"Because that's what I decided."

 "I find that unfair."

"I agree." Makoto patted Yusuke's shoulder sadly. 

"Coffee's ready!" All decorations were temporarily forgotten as everyone hauled ass to the kitchen, including a recently freed Morgana. Within minutes, they were all seated in one of Leblanc's tables, scooting chairs up around the edge when  a few people didn't fit.

Morgana, of course, was content to sit on the center of the table, lapping milk out of a red bowl decorated with snowflakes. "Ahhh... This tastes  _so_ sweet! Did you put something special in it?" The tip of his tail twitched in happiness as he spoke.

"Perhaps."

Ryuji snickered, taking a long swig out of a snowflake-covered yellow cup- an extremely large excuse for a cup, just like everyone else's. "I know ya had to put somethin' in mine- this shit tastes way too good to be coffee!" Oh, Ryuji's voice was so warm and sweet and Akira couldn't help but wonder what it'd be like to taste his drink on his tongue-

"That's because Akira didn't even  _use_ any coffee in it, dummy." Futaba playfully fussed as she drank her (also very watered down) mint chocolate mocha, whipped cream getting all over her lips without her giving a single fuck. 

"Mine's good, too!" Ann's cup was pink, filled with chocolate, heavily sweetened coffee with a shitton of whipped cream, chocolate drizzle, and two chocolate covered strawberries on top. 

"When has he  _not_ made perfect coffee?" Makoto rejoined with a surprising amount of passion, smiling in appreciation at her purple snowflake-soaked cup that kind of looked more like the color of a nasty bruise from how black her coffee was. "You make it... as strong as I need it but as sweet as I want it. And the caramel on the frosting is a perfect touch."

"It's art, to be able to create something as pleasurable as this." Yusuke concurred; his blue glass contained an exotic flavor Akira could neither pronounce nor spell, but had nevertheless known the other boy would be a fan of.

"Absolutely!" Haru looked ecstatic as she sipped dantily from a lavender mug of peppermint perfection.

 "I'm glad everyone enjoys it." Akira replied smoothly, drinking from a black version of the cup with the basic Leblanc brew inside. 

"Aw! You're so cute when you say things like that!" Ryuji exclaimed without realizing it, earning a blush in response though he was too busy staring at his cup and wishing he could drown it to notice; Ann and Futaba shared an exasperated glance. 

"You're cute as well, Ryuji!" Haru pushed with a seemingly innocent smile. "You two are so adorable to watch! It's... It's like my heart's a melting snowman!"

Ryuji's face was as red as Ann's nails and Futaba couldn't take watching this shitstorm anymore- "Guys, c'mon! Let's hurry and drink this so we can OPEN PRESENTS! GO, TEAM, GO!"

 Yusuke immediately began to chug his drink, looking quite confused to find he was the only one doing so. It took around fifteen minutes for everyone to finish, then they were all gathered around the tree.

"And if anyone's disappointed in their gift, remember how we did this and don't blame me." Futaba said. She'd been the one to suggest the idea that seven of them would decide the eighth person's gift and all chip in to help buy it- basically, there had been a group chat between everyone except, say, Haru, and the rest of them had came up with a gift (with Akira typing for Morgana, of course); then they'd deleted the chat history, made a new group, invited Haru back in, and kicked someone else out, repeating the process until they'd got everyone. Even though Futaba had said that, she knew everyone had both liked the idea and would like whatever they recieved... Hopefully.

"Who gets to go first?" Ann asked eagerly. 

"You do!" Morgana replied quickly.

"Hey, who gave  _you_ that authority?" Ann ignored Ryuji's question in favor of grabbing the glittery pink box with her name on it. She tore into the paper with the excitement of a little girl, squealing when she saw what was inside. "Ohmygod you guys! THIS IS AMAZING!" She giggled, holding the case of make-up close to her chest; this was exactly what she'd needed to give her the extra upper hand in the Valentine's Day photo shoot competition one of her favorite employers would be holding soon! 

Ryuji grinned, saying excitedly to Akira, "See? I told you she'd love it!"

Seeing Akira look back at Ryuji like  _that,_ with so much joy but such shittily concealed want and loving warmth in his eyes, was enough to make her mood completely plummet. She just wasn't the type of person to let people do nice things for her without returning the gesture, and it wasn't just the makeup; Ryuji and Akira had saved her and Shiho's lives. She  _had_ to pay them back...

...And if anyone could play Cupid at a Chrstmas party, it was  _definitely_ Ann Takamaki.

"M'kay, I'm next!" As Futaba leaned over for her green box, Ann squealed, "Wait! Drank coffee too fast, gotta pee!"

"Too much info!" Ryuji complained as Ann rushed to the bathroom, calling over her shoulder, "Guys, wait for me!"

The second after the door to the restroom had closed, Futaba's phone went off. Sighing, she checked it, surprised to see a text from the blonde:  _Sojiro has to have mistletoe around here, right?_

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The plan was perfectly set up by the time Ann came back. Futaba practically exploded at the new line of collector's edition figures she recieved while Yusuke literally cried over the lobster plushies they'd found for him.

Akira unwrapped Morgana's for him; the cat's breath hitched as he stared wide-eyed at the gold chest. "T-Treasure?!?"

Akira nodded solemnly. Futaba huffed, leaning over and opening the chest; Morgana's tail began to twitch in pure joy when he saw the pile of free sushi buffet coupons inside. "I  _knew_ I was right to choose you guys!" He joked, happily nuzzling into the papers.

"Damn cat." Ryuji huffed, affectionately stroking behind his ears; Akira watched, his eyes shimmering behind his glasses.

"Haru's next." Makoto declared, handing her abox swathed in peach wrapping paper. "We were a bit... nervous about this one." 

"I'm sure I'll love it." Haru assured her as she carefully unwrapped it, obviously intending to keep the paper, which made Makoto a bit more confident about the gift's contenets- and sure enough, Haru seemed thrilled when she opened it. "This- This is!" She lifted it to her face, eyes wide in joy. "Wherever did you find this? I've never seen one like it, it's so cute!"

Makoto blushed. "I made it, actually."

"R-Really?"

"Yusuke came up with the design and everyone else paid for the supplies I needed, though, so it's still from all of us."

Haru giggled from sheer delight. It was a plush cactus with little flowers on the tips of the spikes, the cactus rising out of a- oh, she'd knitted the _Eiffle_ _Tower_ on the pot,  _how_ had she even-? "Where did you learn to do this, Mako-chan?"

"Ah- well, I've always enjoyed housework and such, and I would sew Sis's clothes whenever they got holes in them..." Makoto explained self-consciously. Eager for a change of subject, she said, "Hey, where's Futaba?"

"She's in the bathroom!" Why was Ann's voice practically hysterical...?

 "She hasn't been here for awhile..." Makoto pressed.

"She's... It's personal, don't make me embarrass her!"

"What the hell is with you pepole today?!?" Ryuji grumbled. 

"Um, let's not talk about this anymore! Open your present, Makoto!" Ann cried, hastily shoving a box in the other girl's hands. Morgana frowned, wondering how Lady Ann even managed as as model with that atrocious acting... Not that it made her any less perfect, of course!

"Hmmm..." Makoto pondered for a moment before deciding it didn't matter anyway and dropping it, instead opening her present- a signed copy of her favorite novel with a beautiful cover and pages tinted with lavender coloring, plus a few books she hadn't read before the others thought she would enjoy. 

After she had finished saying thank you about 500 times, she remembered another present that had soemthing to do with books; smirking, she slid Ryuji's gift to him. " _Definitely_ time for yours."

"Huh...?"

"Oh, yes." Yusuke smiled. "I have been looking forward to this one."

Ryuji flinched. "Is this gonna like, punch me in the face when I open it or somethin'...?"

"No, nothing like that." Akira assured him, a soft smile on his face. "Though it is related to criminal activity."

Those words had Ryuji immediately opening it, then frowning. "Is this... a book?"

"No, silly." Ann huffed. "Look closer!"

Ryuji did, biting his lip as he pulled it out of the box in confusion. It was a stack of notebooks, except they didn't open and they were... stacked in a way that wasn't making them move whenever he shook it. "It... holds books?"

 Ann sighed, snatching it from his hands and removing a strap underneath; a pillow popped out behind the books. "See this? Watch." She placed her head down on the pillow, and now he could see that the books were stacked in a way so that it looked like she was bent over, reading; and when the pressure was applied to the pillow a pen had sprung up out of something, the tip of it visible. 

"What the..."

"It's so you can sleep in class." Makoto explained. "Not that I...  _approved,_ but even I had to cave in with how amazing this is."

"And watch this!" The blonde girl exclaimed as she closed her eyes and adjusted her breathing to mimic sleeping; the pen started to lazily flick back and forth in time with it. Ryuji moved so that he was in front of her like a teacher would be, and sure enough, it was like she was studiously writing something. 

 Ryuji laughed. "That's 'effin awesome! How did you... How does this even work?"

Makoto whistled. "If you'd like to ask Futaba and hear an explanation so complicated even  _I_ can't understand, I'm sure she won't mind doing so whenever she comes back.

"I won't mind!" Futaba agreed; Yusuke literally jumped in surprise at her sudden appearance. She snickered, but all Yusuke did in response was shield his lobster's eyes from the monstrosity of Futaba Sakura. 

"What took you so long?" Makoto inquired.

"D-Don't answer that!" Ryuji huffed. "And you guys say  _I'm_ insensitive-"

"Nevermind that! Last level! Go, Akira, go!"

Akira chuckled, grabbing the last, tiniest box. He opened it the same slow way Haru did, much to Futaba and Ann's ever growing stress.

Of course, when he actually saw what was inside, his inexpressiveness stressed  _everyone_ out. He opened the ornate silver pocket watch carefully; the only sign of emotion on his face was his brow creasing, but from which feeling, who the hell knew?

"We... wanted to give you something to remember us by when you have to leave again." Makoto explained awkwardly.

"Is it not stylish enough for you?" Morgana's voice was more nervous than it'd ever been. "I thought-"

He was interrupted when Akira sobbed quietly. "No, no, I love it. You guys... I love you all s-so much..."

"U-Uh... group hug!" Futaba decreed, and notably Ryuji was the first one to swoop in on that action. Morgana crawled up into Akira's lap as he tried to regain his composure, hugging his friends back to the best of his ability. 

Finally, he said, "Alright, I'm okay... Thank you all."

"Awww, it's no problem!" Ann forced a smile as Akira wiped his own tears away, even though that really should have been Ryuji's job. "Now, who's hungry? I'm ready for that cake!

"You're  _always_ ready for cake." Ryuji remarked. 

"I'll get it," Akira said, glad to have something to do besides look like he hadn't been crying.

He was already opening the fridge when Futaba commented, "Y'know, that cake's prettttty big. Ryuji, shouldn't you help him?"

"Oh- Yeah, you're right!" The blond hastily followed Akira while Ann and Futaba shared a smirk; Makoto noticed this and began to get worried. 

"Need some help with that, man?" Akira jumped upon seeing Ryuji standing there, looking so perfect in that adorable sweater with his voice so goddamn sweet. 

"Thanks." Akira smiled as he grabbed one side of the cake. He had made it with Futaba and Sojiro, and the hacker hadn't been completely scheming when she sent Ryuji in here; the thing was pretty damn huge, considering it was for six people, a cat, and an Ann (who had adamantly refused to stay on her model diet during the holidays.)

Their hands brushed when Ryuji grabbed it, and Akira quickly looked away, Ryuji doing the same. They were so caught up in looking casual as they carried it out that neither of them noticed Futaba and Ann until they'd scooped the cake out of their hold.

"What the 'eff-"

"Not now, Ryuji! Look up!" Ann giggled as she and Futaba scampered away with the cake. 

They both glanced up; Ryuji gasped loudly. "Is that... 'effin mistletoe?!?"

Futaba snickered while Ann began to chant, "Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!"

Ryuji's face flushed pink, his eyes going wide as he looked at them in terror. How could this happen to him?!? Oh God if Akira found out about how he felt towards him he'd despise him and so would the other Phantom Thieves, he couldn't, how could Ann do this to him weren't they supposed to be friends and... And... "Wh-What the hell is wrong with you? When did this shit even get up here?!?"

The chant spread among the rest of the group, with Yusuke downright  _screaming,_ "KISS! KISS! KISS!!!" The painter was so loud Ryuji could barely even pick up on Morgan's cries of, "Don't! Don't! DON'T!"

In hindsight, he probably should have been focusing on Akira. Maybe he would have noticed before Akira abruptly cupped his face in his hands and pressed their lips together. 

Ryuji's eyes went wide, a million thoughts flickering through his head- the hopeful way Akira had asked, "Is this a confession?" on Valentine's Day when Ryuji had given him chocolate, the look on his face when Ryuji had told him Akira made him feel  _free,_ the dreams Ryuji had had about him and then tried to forget, the ache in his heart that hadn't gone away the entire time Akira had been gone no matter what Ryuji did to ignore it- oh, how could he have been so  _stupid_ to think Akira would hate him? 

Warm brown eyes closed as Ryuji kissed him back, tasting coffee that had never once been so sweet until now. He held the black-haired boy close, feeling him shudder in response. Actually  _shudder..._

Ann giggled, tackling Futaba in a hug. "We did it!"

"I know! Mission success!"

"I see now that this is... The best Christmas present they could have recieved from us-"

"Hey, you didn't do anything, Inari!" Futaba cut him off.

Ryuji and Akira were making out rather passionately by now; Morgana's ears were pressed flat against his head as he yowled, "Get a room, there are _ladies_ in here, you dumbasses!"

The two jumped away, both of them blushing furiously. "Why, just look at them! This is the affection so many artists fail to display properly!" Yusuke pulled them into an uncomfortable hug for no reason, and then Ryuji was laughing. 

"AHHH HE BROKE RYUJI!" Futaba screeched. 

"Are you okay?" Makoto asked nervously, fearing Futaba was correct.

"I..." Ryuji guffawed, tears swelling in his eyes. "We're- We're getting hugged by  _balls!"_

"That's  _it,_ I'm going to bed!" Morgana's tail twitched in aggravation as he headed for the stairs, though of course Haru asked him to stay and he did.

"Okay, now I'm bored.Time for the drinking games!" Futaba declared. 

"Absolutely not!" Makoto objected. "We will play age-appropriate party games, preferably of a Christmas theme."

After several hours of cake, coffee refills, and age-appropriate, mostly Christmas-themed games, Haru was asleep on a snoring Makoto's lap, Ann was sleeping next to a plate littered with cake crumbs, Yusuke was using his cards as a pillow, and Futaba was curled around a curled-up Morgana, both in the beginning stages of a cake-induced coma. 

Ryuji smirked, stacking his cards in a makeshift house. "Still think we shoulda gave that cat cake?"

"Probably not." Akira fanned himself with his cards. "Do you not want to finish this hand?"

"Dude, we're the only ones still awake!"

"Those are the words of a loser." Ryuji snickered as he added another floor to his card house; Akira added, "Are you tired yet?"

"Nope. You?"

 "No."

Ryuji sighed, stretching. "I really don't want you to go back, man. Really,  _really_ don't."

Akira smiled sadly. "I don't, either. Futaba and Sojiro want to adopt me."

Ryuji's face lit up. "Can you do that?"

"No. My parents would die before they'd let that happen."

Ryuji looked crestfallen. "That's bullshit. Do you even want to live there?"

"Hell no."

Ryuji nodded slowly, his nails digging into his palms. "Fuck, I wish we could still change asshole's hearts." His eyes met Akira's, full of raw emotion as he said quietly, "I missed you so much... Shit, I think I'm gonna go crazy when you leave again."

Akira pulled Ryuji into his arms. "Let's just enjoy the time we have left together." 

Ryuji smiled, nuzzling into his neck; fuck, Akira was going to die from how cute he was. "I..." He chuckled. "I definitely didn't think this would happen when I woke up this mornin'."

"You should have known this would happen when you put that sweater on- who could possibly resist it?"

God, Ryuji's laugh made him feel like a kid that had just heard Santa's fucking sleigh bells. Akira had no idea how long they just held each other, until Ryuji squealed, "Dude! It's snowin' out there!"

Akira followed his gaze, smiling. "Oh, it is, isn't it?"

"Do you like snow?"

"I've never really done any of that... snow stuff before."

"Snow stuff?" Ryuji repeated incredulously.

"You know... The snowball fights, snowmen, sleighing, skating, whatever... Hey, what are you doing?" He asked when Ryuji jumped to his feet, dragging Akira up as well. 

"What do you think? You're about to discover snow stuff!"

"Now?"

" 'Course!"

"But- it  _just_ started snowing-"

"C'mon, no time like the present!"

"We don't even have coats on-" He tried to protest as Ryuji dragged him outside.

"Pffft. Dude, the whole point of sweaters is to keep you warm!"

Akira wasn't too sure that would work, but the smile Ryuji gave him as the snow slowly drifted down on them was more than enough to keep him warm until at least next Christmas.

**Author's Note:**

> Yeah... I was realllllly craving some coffee when I wrote this. T_T My phone is so cracked and kept making stupid typos ahh I hate that the school ocker AO3 on their computers WHAT AM I GONNA DOOOO.
> 
> My friend @QueenofAlamoBeerandPropane helped me come up with most of these gift ideas, even though she hasn't actually played the game yet. I don't think she was serious when I asked what Ryuji should get and she replied with, "A pillow that looks like a book so he can sleep in class," but I rolled with it and this monstrosity was born, though seriously someone should make something like that if it's, um, humanly possible. 
> 
> Most of the sweater designs were inspired by crap I found on Google for ugly Christmas sweaters. I don't have Internet at my house so I've never downloaded the P5 Christmas DLC, but everytime I see Morgana's outfit my heart breaks for him because how can the poor baby even fight like that ~~1 like=1 prayer for Morgana *shot*~~ I'm sorry I just really love that meme and I'm tired af Arsene save me Though all joking aside if you did like reading this bs any kudos/comments would be greatly appreciated as I'm having one of those days where you have no confidence in your writing, gah cringe cringe. I hope you liked reading it, happy holidays~! <3


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